Nano-Human
by BookWriter2014
Summary: Belle's life was absolutely perfect. She had a loving father, and great friends. But on the night of her engagement party, she witnesses a spaceship crash. Though two die Belle saves a third alien named Rumplestilskin. He has his own secrets and his home world has terrifying plans for Earth. But is their budding friendship enough to save Earth, or can they admit their true feelings
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One:

"Help! Please someone help me!" the young woman screamed as she ran down the deserted city street underneath the full moon.

Behind her, a huge, disk shaped, dark colored flying saucer flew low over the city, its search lights flashing down onto the streets, searching for its' newest victim.

The young woman ran up the steps to the library, where only hours before she had been partying with her friends, "Hey! Open up! Please, they're after me!" She screamed.

Unfortunately that was her mistake, the aliens inside the flying saucer heard her, and shone all five of its search lights on her.

She screamed again, and banged on the door before running away from the library and farther down the street, but it was too late the flying saucer was upon her, its tractor beam flooding down on her, pulling her up towards the heart of the ship.

She screamed again and—

"Belle!"

Belle looked up from where she was reading her book at the front desk of the library to see one of her best friends, a dark haired woman with brilliant green eyes, wearing a crimson tank top, skirt and black stilletos named Ruby Lucas standing in front of her.

"Sorry Ruby," Belle said apologetically, lowering her book onto her lap, "Did you say something?"

Belle, despite being twenty-three looked like she was only nineteen for how small and petite she was. Not to mention that she was a natural beauty with her hazelnut brown hair cascading down onto her shoulders, with her deep blue eyes shining with innocent cheerfulness.

Ruby sighed and shook her head, "I said are you coming tonight or what?"

"Oh!" Belle's eyes widened in horror, and she quickly got to her feet and put the book away. She ran past Ruby and grabbed her friend's arm, dragging her along behind her as she ran out of the already closed library.

"Oh sorry Ruby, I got so absorbed in my book that I completely forgot about girls' night," Belle explained as she fumbled with her keys, trying to lock the library's door as fast as she could.

"Don't worry about Belle," Ruby reassured her, gesturing to the diner across the street from the library where Belle worked as the librarian, "I have some stuff I keep in the back of Grannies that you can wear tonight".

Only half an hour later, Belle found herself wearing a skin tight, knee length, sparkly blue dress that she had borrowed from Ruby.

"Come on Belle, you were late for your own engagement party, you can't be late for your girls' night engagement party too," Ruby exclaimed, tugging on Belle's hand to encourage her to hurry up as they ran from Ruby's car, which was actually Ruby's grandmother's, to the out of town nightclub called Vertigo.

"There you guys are!" Mary Margaret, a young woman with short black hair exclaimed as they ran up to the entrance of the small building, "You're lucky you got here before seven, if you weren't here by then, Emma was going to go out in the cruiser and look for you".

Emma Swan, another of Belle's close friends was the town's sheriff deputy, and took her job quite literal especially when it came to the people the young blonde cared about.

Ruby chuckled and linked arms with Belle and Mary Margaret, and together, the three of them made their way inside where green, purple and gold lights flashed overhead, and dancing people filled the club.

Near the back of the club, by the DJ, was Emma and Regina, who was also the mayor of the town, both women were nursing a beer at the bar, and talking with the bartender, a man by the name of Killian Jones.

Belle and her friends knew Killian quite well. Whenever they ventured into Vertigo for a night of fun, Killian always managed to slip them free shots and flirted with them, mostly with Emma, all night long, and then ensured that they all got home safely. Even if that meant calling a taxi for them. Or even taking them home himself as he had to do so one time.

Regina and Emma smiled when they saw the three women making their way over to the bar, and Killian even waved cheerfully at them.

"Hey love," Killian said to Belle as he pushed a cup of hot coco in front of her, which was her usual drink at the nightclub, "remember if you ever want a real man, I'll be right here".

"Sure Killian, I'll keep that in mind," Belle joked, tossing a glob of whipped cream from her coco at him.

The girls laughed, while Killian wiped the whipped cream off of his chin and licked his fingers, "No fair B, you know I can't fight back while I'm on duty," Killian complained.

Regina smirked, leaning against the bar counter, "Too bad Captain Guyliner, we're here to bring the house down".

After they finished their drinks, the women made their way over to the dance floor and danced away for seven songs, before the first slow song came on.

Belle and Ruby slow danced together for the fun of it, while Regina danced with some random guy that had asked her. Emma sat at the bar, chatting away with Killian, who would be off duty in a few minutes when his replacement, a woman named Tinker Belle arrived at the club.

Belle stopped slow dancing, and looked over Ruby's shoulder, trying to locate his fourth friend, Mary Margaret, who had seemingly disappeared.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked, folding her arms across her chest, a frown replacing her usual cheshire smile.

"Where's Mary Margaret at?" Belle asked, leaning up on her tippy toes to see over the crowd of people, "I haven't seen her for a while".

"Maybe she went outside for a breather," Ruby suggested, gesturing towards the back exit. Belle frowned and nodded.

"Maybe," she said, "stay here, I'm going to go see if she did go outside".

Ruby tilted her head to the side, "Do you want me to come with you?"

Belle shook her head and headed away from friend, "I'll be just a moment".

She waved at Emma, who had seen her making her way through the crowd, letting her friend know that she was going to be right back, and then she pushed against the back door and walked outside.

The night air hit her face, and she breathed in deeply, enjoying the way it ruffled her hair, and created goosebumps on her skin.

Belle sighed happily and said softly, "I wish it could always be like this".

Then to her delight, a star streaked across the sky, leaving a trail of blue and red behind it. Belle smiled and watched as it made its way quickly across the sky, _It's so beautiful,_ she thought.

Suddenly, Belle frowned, her eyes widening in horror. It wasn't a shooting star! It was some sort of air craft and it was heading straight for the forest!

Belle watched in horror as the air craft hit the tree line and fire flew up from where it had crashed before going dim.

"Oh no!" she exclaimed, and ran towards the forest, forgetting momentarily about her friends. Right now the passangers on the air craft needed her help! They might be severely hurt.

She ran through the woods as fast as her skin tight dress and two inch heels allowed. Twigs, and thorns snagged on her hair and dress, messing it up a little, not that she noticed any. She was only concerned about the poor passangers on the air craft.

She paused at the crest of a hill, and gasped.

Below, in a small valley, was a giant spaceship.

Smoke drifted lazily in thick clouds from the side of the ship, while the front of the spaceship had caved in, showing part of the interior of the massive ship.

"Oh no!" Belle whispered hoarsely. She wrapped her arms around herself, shaking all over with fear. In every story she had ever heard, or read, aliens always abducted humans and preformed the most horrible experiments on them.

She was about to run back to the club when she saw the body.

It was a woman, lying on her side, bleeding terribly.

Belle gasped, and forgetting everything about aliens that she knew, ran down the hill to the woman, and crouched beside her, hands fluttering uselessly over the strange woman's still form.

The woman was most defiantely an alien that much was clear to Belle. She had green-gold skin that seemed to glitter in the moonlight, and had reptilian eyes, and sharp claws. But, to Belle's mixed horror and relief, the alien was already dead, killed immediately on impact, and thrown from the ship.

Belle stood up, and trembling with fear, looked into the torn open spaceship. What if there were more aliens inside? What if one of them had survived but lay dying inside?

Belle took a deep breath and whispered to herself, "Do the brave thing, and bravery will follow".

She grabbed hold of the ragged edges of the hole in the front of the spaceship, and pulled herself into the ship.

Inside, the ship was very dark, and smoky. There was two main sections of the ship, separated by a half wall in the middle that was severely damaged. On the left side of the space ship, were five chairs surrounding what looked like a control panel. While on the right side of the ship were three metal examination tables, along with tons of strange equipment that she had never seen before.

Leaning against one of the examination tables was another dead alien, this time, it was male with very short hair and blood trickling out of his mouth, eyes staring blankly ahead.

Belle shivered, and was about to leave the spaceship to head back to the night club when she heard a whispered plea.

"Help!" someone croaked.

Belle froze in place, listening intently.

"Help," the voice came again. This time Belle was able to pin point where it was coming from, which was the right side of the ship.

Warily, fearing a trap, Belle made her way into the left side of the ship, past the already dead alien to see more strange equipment scattered about the room. At first, she didn't see anyone, but then . . .

A small man, with green-gold skin and shoulder length brown hair was lying on the floor in a pool of blood, his chest, and arms cut badly. He was leaning up on his elbows, his face turned towards her, amber reptilian eyes wide and unfocused, but terror showed clearly in their unique depths.

"Help," he croaked again, this time his voice sounded smaller, more afraid.

He must be in shock, Belle realized and then she saw why he hadn't moved since the ship had crashed. A large, and very heavy looking air tank had landed on him, trapping his right leg beneath it.

Beep!  
Belle jumped at the small electric sound, and glanced around wildly for a moment before she realized that it was just her iphone alerting her to a text message from one of her friends. She pulled her phone out and looked at the message.

Ruby: _Belle where are you? You said you would only be a moment._

Belle looked back up at the poor alien, her mind instantly made up when she heard him whimper helplessly, completely unware of her presence in the ship.

She quickly texted her friend back,

Belle: _I didn't feel so good, went home. Sorry I didn't tell you. Did you guys ever find Mary Margaret?_

After sending her message, she turned her phone off and shoved it into her jacket pocket, feeling a little guilty about lying to her friends. But how could she tell them she had found an alien spaceship without them thinking she was joking or going nuts?

She made her way over to the injured alien, being careful to watch for any sudden movements in case he still had friends about that planned on trapping her. But no one jumped out when she crouched down beside him, her shoes killing her feet.

"Shsh," Belle murmured comfortingly to him, brushing his hair back out of his face, "It's ok, I'm going to get you out of here, don't worry".

The alien whimpered, and coughed up blood, before pulling back away from her hand, his eyes wide, "P-please . . ." he whispered fearfully, his eyes still unfocused.

Belle smoothed back his hair, and caressed the side of his face, calming him. She knew from the state he was currently in that he wouldn't remember hardly anything of tonight when he came out of shock, so she didn't worry of what he must think of her gesture.

"Be still," Belle told him, and the alien silently obeyed, staring up at her with frightened eyes, still trembling.

With the alien calm, Belle turned her attention to the air tank trapping his leg. She kneeled down and gave the tank a gentle push; the alien howled in pain.

Belle shushed him quietly, swiftly, before she turned back to the air tank, figuring out a way to free the injured and very scared alien.

 _If I can push it off of him really quickly, then maybe I can get him out of here_. Belle paused, wondering what she would do with him once she got him free.

 _I'll take him to that abandoned cabin I saw on the way here,_ she decided finally _, and then I'll figure out what to do from there._

"Alright, hey on little alien," Belle cooed to him, "This is going to hurt a lot, but then you'll be free".

She braced her hands against the cold metal of the tank and pushed as hard as she could. The alien screamed in agony, and Belle couldn't help but wish he would be quieter. His screams might attract hostile attention to him.

Yes! The tank was moving! Belle pushed against it again, and this time it rolled off of his bloody, and very badly bruised leg.

She inspected his leg, squeezing it a little to ensure there were no broken bones. She gave a sigh of relief when her efforts confirmed that his leg was indeed only badly bruised, and a bit bloody.

She turned back to the rest of the alien.

The poor alien by now was sobbing softly, tears streaming down his face, his hiccupy sobs tearing at her heart.

"St-stop, p-please s-stop," he begged, his voice hoarse from screaming, and from fear.

"Shsh, it's ok, the worst is over," she told him, "I'm going to get you out of here now, ok". She stood up and moved behind him, before she reached down, and wrapped her arms around his chest, just below his armpits, and pulled up.

She grunted, and began to drag the hysterical alien out of the space ship, and towards the abandoned cabin she had seen earlier on her run through the woods.

 _Make sure to leave comments and favorite or follow if you really like this story, which I hope you do!_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

Belle watched the alien's chest rise and fall steadily as he slept on the small cot she had placed him on after having dragged him to the abandoned cabin.

She was reluctant to leave him here alone, but she needed to go back to town to get medical supplies anyway, and she needed to change clothes into something a bit more appropriate for dealing with a strange being.

Belle sighed and stood up. For a few minutes, she dug around in the drawers of an ancient dresser until she found a couple of torn up, but fairly clean t-shirts.

She shut the drawers and walked over to the alien, who was whimpering softly in his sleep. He had passed out half-way to the cabin, turning into dead weight for Belle to drag the rest of the way.

Carefully, Belle ripped the t-shirts into strips, and tied them around the worst of his wounds, luckily of which, all of them had stopped bleeding. After that, she used the remaining t-shirt strips to tie him to the bed frame, before throwing a woolen blanket she had found in the closet over him.

He may be hurt, but Belle wasn't taking any chances with him. He could still be quite dangerous, even if he was injured.

Belle surveyed her work, and deemed it would do for now.

Quietly, as to not wake him, she left the cabin, taking extra care to shut the door as quietly as she could, then she started the long trek home.

It didn't take her long to reach the main road, and after having waved down a taxi that was heading from Vertigo to town, she managed to get a quick ride to her apartment over the library.

It was nearly eleven at night by the time Belle arrived at her apartment. With a heavy sigh she plopped down onto her tiny sofa, relishing the comforting feeling the soft fabric brought her. But she couldn't lay about for the rest of the night, she had work to do. The alien's life depended on it.

Belle quickly threw off her high heels, and wiggled out of Ruby's skin tight dress, before she threw on the comfiest t-shirt and jeans she could find, and tied on her favorite pair of sneakers.

Satisfied with her new, much more appropriate outfit, Belle hurried into her kitchen, and raided the medicine cabinet.

She grabbed a douffel bag from a new by closet, and tossed several rolls of bandages into it, along with triple anibotic, stitches, band-aides and three bottles of water, plus a cantine she filled with water and threw in as well. She would need plenty of it to clean his wounds before she used the disinfectant.

She was tempted to throw in a few medications as well, but decided against it at the last moment, she didn't know what the chemicals in the medicine would do to his system, and she didn't want to accidently poison him.

Then she threw in a few other helpful items, such as rope, matches, and a latern, along with a box of cerial for tomorrow morning.

She went to her bed room and grabbed a pillow, blanket, flashlight, and a can of pepper spray, just in case the alien was hostile, and threw them in her bag as well, before she zipped it shut.

She grabbed the bag, and went outside, and down the stairs to where her car was parked in the parking lot.

Juggling her keys in one hand, and the duffel bag straps in the other, she unlocked her car door, and threw the duffel bag into the passanger's seat before sliding into the driver's seat and shutting the car door.

After belting herself in, and having turner her car on, she checked her phone to find several messages from her friends, as well as her father and fiancé Gaston Adian.

Ruby: _Hope you feel better B, We found MM, she was chatting with some guy named David._

Moe French: _Regina told me you don't feel so good and came home, you need anything sweetie?_

Gaston: _Where r u, thought u was coming to my place 2nite after ur party._

Belle sighed, no matter how many times she had asked him to, her fiancé still refused to use proper English when he was texting her. It was a little pet peeve of Belle's that Gaston had never taken notice of.

Belle texted all of them back to let them know that she was fine, and then shut her phone off again and started driving towards the woods where the abandoned cabin lay.

She parked near the edge of the woods, and got out, yawning sleepily. Belle shook herself and reminded herself of her task, that woke her right up.

She grabbed her duffel bag and trekked through the woods until she found the cabin, and went inside.

To her relief, the alien was still sleeping soundly, if not restlessly on the cot where she had left him. But then again, he would be uncomfortable from the make shift ropes binding him to the cot frame. But he would have to deal with that discomfort until Belle was sure he meant her no harm. She may be empathetic, but she wasn't stupid.

Quickly, Belle took out a few matches, and lit a lantern, before she placed it onto a nearby table; the flickering flames lighting up the entire room.

Next she took out her medical supplies, and the rope.

She went over to the injured alien, and took the blanket off of him, and cut through the fabric strips binding him to the cot with her pocket knife. Then she placed her closed pocket knife back into her jeans pocket.

The alien wore a thick leather shirt, and jacket, both badly torn, along with leather trousers that had faired better than his jacket and shirt. Protecting his feet were thick, knee high boots, laced all the way up.

Swallowing nervously, Belle removed the alien's jacket and shirt, tossing them off to the side before she moved onto his boots, setting to the task of unlacing them.

After she removed his fancy boots, she tugged his leather trousers down, and was quite relieved to see that he had a pair of boxers on, which she was surprised to find wasn't made of leather, unlike the rest of his attire.

She was also happy to see that his lower body had faired quite well apart from the massive bruising along his left leg.

Belle leaned over him and very gently touched the bruised area, immediately, the alien whimpered in pain.

Belle removed her hand, and set about the task of cleaning, disinfecting, stitching, and bandaging his wounds.

By the time she was done, her limbs felt like lead, and her head ached. Hoover Dam, she was exhausted.

She pulled out her pocket knife, and cut the rope into differing lengths, before she used some of it to once again tie the alien to the bed.

 _I hope the rope doesn't cut into his wrist and ankles, but I don't want him loose in the cabin. He could've been out to harm humans before his ship crashed_ Belle thought as she shoved the remaining pieces of rope into her bag.

Belle sat down on the dusty floor and pulled out her blanket and pillow. She rearranged her blanket and pillow to her liking, before she laid down and went straight to sleep.

The sound of rustling woke Belle the next morning. Light was filtering through the dirty cabin windows, while the lantern had blown out some time during the night.

Belle stretched and yawned, glancing over to see the alien was struggling against the ropes holding him down.

Belle leapt to her feet, her heart pounding, eyes wide. He was awake already?

Belle snuck over to the edge of the cot and looked down at him, before she sighed in relief. He was just thrashing about in his sleep, he wasn't awake yet. That meant she still had a little longer to figure out what to do with him once he was awake.

Swiftly, she checked his bandages, and replaced those that needed it. Then she steeled herself and inspected his injured leg.

It was worse, much worse.

The light brown bruising from yesterday had turned into a dark brown, and had swollen up some. She checked again for broken bones, or fractures, but once again she found nothing of serious injury apart from the bruising. But that didn't seem to help the alien any, he started screaming and sobbing the moment she touched the bruised area.

She went back to her bag and dug through her medical supplies, after a while, she ended up just putting triple antibiotic on the bruised area, not sure what else to do to help his leg heal.

Next, she grabbed a water bottle, and hoping he also needed to stay hydrated, she opened his mouth and poured some water down his throat.

After having taken care of the alien's needs, Belle sat down at the table in the cabin's small kitchen and ate the cerial she had brought with her.

She texted her friends, father and fiancé to tell them that she had gone out for a walk, and would be arriving at the library late. Another lie, and more guilt, but she couldn't let them in on her secret just yet.

A low groan coming from the bedroom of the cabin caught her attention, and Belle ran swiftly into the bedroom, eyes widening in shock.

The alien's amber reptilian eyes were wide open, and he was struggling to free himself from the rope that bound him to the cot. He was awake.

 _It hasn't even been twenty four hours, and Nano-human already has a favorite! Thanks for the support guys. I hope you all liked this chapter, it was fun writing it. Next chapter should be up soon._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three:

Terror flood through Rumplestilskin the moment he opened his eyes.

He was laying down on a cot in a small bedroom, completely unfamiliar to him. His whole body hurt, his head ached, and his left leg felt like it was on fire.

Rumplestilskin groaned, and attempted to sit up, but found that he couldn't. His arms and legs were tied down with rope to the cot beneath him. Panic flared in his chest. He was captured!

"Oh!" his head snapped to the side, eyes wide, to see a young female human, a woman, with shoulder length almond brown hair and the most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen standing in the door way to the bedroom.

"You're awake," the woman said, rubbing the side of her arm awkwardly with her other hand.

At first he didn't understand why she should feel awkward, especially when he was her prisoner. But then he realized that he literally wore nothing but his spaceship boxers, and a few bandages.

His face went hot, and if his species could be seen blushing, his face would be turning bright red about now.

The woman approached him, and he shrank back, afraid. He knew what his own species did to the humans they caught, and though he had never approved of it, he still helped them catch human after human to experiment on as he was the pilot of the ship.

The ship!

Rumplestilskin began thrashing about, desperately trying to free himself. He had to get back to the ship, back to the others! Were they ok? Had Nimua and Zoso been captured as well?

The last thing he could remember was his ship being hit by a strange projectile and then everything had gone hay wire. The ship had swung out to the side swiftly, and while Rumplestilskin had been trying to turn it back upright, he had accidently flipped it so that it flew upside down. After that they had crashed through the trees, and part of the ship had caught fire.

He jerked back again as the woman gently brushed her hand against the side of his face, her eyes full of concern. The woman bit her lower lip when he jerked back, and then stood back up.

"It's ok, I won't hurt you," she told him, "My name's Belle. What's yours?"

Rumplestilskin stared at her, his throat refusing to work, even to make the smallest of sounds. Should he say something? No. It's all a trap to get information out of him about the upcoming invasion of Earth.

But how did they know about the Nano-humans' plans? Had they seen the ships? Rumplestilskin was sure that he and his fellow space-craft pilots had been extremely careful about not going out during daylight, and being sure to stay away from large crowds of humans.

"Um, can you understand me?" Belle asked hesitantly, she was still figiting.

An idea instantly popped into Rumplestilskin's mind at her uncertain words.

He grinned at her, "Why of course I can dearie," he quipped in the highest pitched voice he could manage.

Maybe if he could scare her, he could manipulate her into untying him, then he would run off and find the other members of his crew. They had to get back to Boov, their home planet, where the high council was waiting for the last invasion prep team to return, which would let them know if it was indeed a good time or not to start the invasion.

Belle swallowed hard, her eyes widening in surprise, but to his disappointment, she didn't seem the least bit afraid of him.

"So why won't you answer my question then," Belle asked, narrowing her eyes. She folded her arms across her chest, and huffed in annoyance.

I can't let her know my name, I can't let her know my name!

"Why should I tell you dearie," Rumplestilskin spat, "You've captured the wrong Nano-human to be questioning little human".

He could tell his words surprised her, but not his hostility. She had obviously expected some sort of aggression from him, but then again what else could she expect. Even humans had to know that prisoners weren't pleased to be captured by the enemy.

"Questioning?" Belle echoed, her brow furrowing in confusion, "What are you talking about? When I found you, you were half dead. I was trying to save your life, alien".

She was toying with him, trying to manipulate him into giving her his complete trust. But it wouldn't work. He was too smart for that, too clever to fall for a human's tricks a second time. But he would play along with her little game.

"Of course you were just wanting to help me little human," Rumplestilskin purred in his pitched voice, "I'm sure you've already helped my comrades, haven't you?"

The woman shifted uneasy from foot to foot. She stared at the floor, suddenly avoiding his gaze. This immediately perked Rumplestilskin's interest.

"When I found your ship, they were already dead," she told him quietly, "I'm sorry, but I was too late to help them".

Rumplestilskin felt the icy hand of fear squeeze his heart, his comrades were dead. He was captured and stranded on a hostile planet, completely on his own. He was without any way to contact his allies.

The room became deadly silent for a few moments while this news sunk in. He had never been particularly fond of Nimua and Zoso, but at least he had known he could trust them with his life should they come across trouble.

And now they were gone . . .

"Are you hungry?" she asked him.

He looked over at her, "Why so you can poison me dearie?"

Belle huffed angrily and shook her head in disbelief, before the young human left the room. Rumplestilskin listened to the sound of her footsteps as she walked around the cabin, trying to find something. A few moments later she came back holding a bowl of strange golden pellets.

"This is cerial," Belle told him, and popped a few of the pellets into her mouth. She chewed noisily and then swallowed, waiting.

He stared at her for a few minutes, then she came over to him, and sat on the edge of the bed. Rumplestilskin automatically scooted as far away from her as possible. He didn't like the idea of humans touching him. Didn't want a human to touch him in any way.

Especially since the clothing he wore barely covered his modesty.

The last time he had been this close to a human like this, lying down on a cot, almost completely unclothed . . . Rumplestilskin shook himself. He didn't want to even think about that instance from his past. He had worked too hard to all but erase the incident from the records on his planet.

Belle rested the bowl of "cerial" on her lap, and took a few pieces out of the bowl, holding them in between her fingers as she placed them just in front of his lips.

"Here," she said, "You know it's not poisoned because I just ate some".

Rumplestilskin swallowed hard, his belly felt too hollow. But he didn't want to let this human, or any human for that matter feed him. Didn't want to be tied down, so helpless, so vulnerable.

No, I won't eat anything she gives me, no matter what, he decided.

His stomach growled in protest loudly.

Belle frowned, worried, "Its ok, I'm not going to hurt you. And I know you're hungry," she said with a pointed look at his stomach.

"No, I'm not dearie," he snapped, turning his face away from the food in her fingers.

Oh, it smelled so good, even if it did look like pellets. Or was that just his body' natural reaction to smelling food when he was hungry? 

Belle sighed, "Fine, don't eat. I'm not going to force it down your throat".

She stood up, and placed the bowl on the night stand, then turned back to face him, "Is there anything you need before I leave for a little while?"

He snorted, "You're leaving me unguarded? Not so wise little human."

Belle huffed, and paused at the threshold to the room, her hand on the door knob, "Who says I'm leaving you unguarded". With that said, she left the room, and closed the door behind her, leaving him alone.

I have to find a way to get out of here, and back to Boov, so the invasion can start, Rumplestilskin thought.

 _Hope you guys liked this chapter. It took a bit longer to write than normal. As for future chapters, I'll try to keep them long._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

It was nearing afternoon when Belle finally arrived home at her apartment. She went up and threw on a change of clothes before going down and opening the library. Within minutes, Mrs. Potts, the library's financial secretary came in, carrying her usual black binder with her.

When Belle had first arrived in the town, three years ago, the library had already been foreclosed. It had taken Belle several months to get the town interested in helping with the project. Despite all of the town residents' generous donations, Belle wouldn't have been able to open the library without the help of Mrs. Potts.

The older woman, who was in her late sixties, was on the town council in place of her employer, the mysterious and notorious Mr. Gold.

He owned the majority of the town's properties, including the church, school, local restraunts, and many of the other properties. He also owned, and operated the town's only pawnshop, which was located a few blocks down from the library. Well, he did until he disappeared from the town four years ago.

The entire town had buzzed with news of his sudden departure. Sheriff Gram Hubbard and deputy Emma Swan had instantly sent out search parties for him, fearing for the worst, but in the end, Mrs. Potts had reassured the town that her employer had merely departed to Scotland to deal with some family issues. He never returned, so Mrs. Potts had more or less taken over his job.

"Good morning Ms. French, did you have a good time last night at your girls engagement party?" Mrs. Potts asked Belle, as she went into the library's back room to set her black binder down on her secretary desk.

The flash of light in the sky, the injured and dead aliens, the injured alien's refusal to eat or even simply give his name . . .

"Yeah, it was great, but I had to go home early, I wasn't feeling well," Belle lied. She might as well make sure that everyone knew what her cover story was for taking off so early on the night of her engagement party.

Mrs. Potts came back into the main room and gave her a look of pure sympathy, "I'm so sorry to hear that dear? Are you feeling better now? If not, I'll send you up to your apartment with a cup of herbal tea".

Belle shook her head, smiling at the kind old woman, "No, I'm feeling much better now, but a cup of tea would be appreciated".

The old woman nodded, and made her way into the small employee's lounge near the boys' bathroom, and began boiling water for the tea.

Belle watched her for a moment, then turned and drove the small book kart over to one of the shelves and began putting the books back. After she was done with the tea, Mrs. Potts could take over restocking so Belle could stay up at the front desk.

A soft whistling sound emanated from the lounge, and a moment later, Mrs. Potts came into the main room and set a cup of tea on the front circulation desk before she went over to the book kart and took over restocking the shelves.

Belle went behind the circulation desk, and set down on the stool, quietly sipping her tea. Almost instantly, her thoughts focused on the alien.

 _What if he doesn't start eating? Its not like I can force food down his throat or take him to the hospital. And what if he does start eating? He'll eventually get better and then what? I can't hold him prisoner, but at the same time, he can't go back to wherever it was he came from. His ship is trashed, and his friends are buried six feet under._

The little belle by the front door dinged and Mary Margaret came in with her bouncing class of fourth graders.

Belle took a deep breath and gave the class and her close friend her most winning smile. For now, she couldn't let anyone know that anything was wrong, or in Belle's case, life-changing.

Rumplestilskin lay on the cot for the longest while, pondering over the young woman's words. He had no doubt that she was bad news for him and his mission, but her true intentions still remained unknown to him. But that didn't matter, he needed to contact the rest of his planet and tell them the mission was a go.

The woman, Belle, had said that she was leaving him with guards, but he wasn't worried about any possible human guards hanging around. From what Rumplestilskin could tell, the cabin was fairly new, so he doubted it was from part of a human government facility for alien prisoners, which meant that he was dealing with unexperienced humans. Just like last time.

 _If I can just reach into my boxers, I can grab my dagger_ , he thought. Odd as it sounded, his kind had trained him to ensure that he always had some sort of weapon on him, and should anthing happen to him that forced him to completely undress except for his boxers, that he would have a dagger strapped to his upper thigh.

Well what do you know; he was in a situation where he needed to have a hidden weapon on him. Thank you dear Zelena.

Rumplestilskin wiggled, trying to loosen the ropes binding him to the small, but surprisingly comfortable cot. The rope instantly bit into his wrists and ankles, bringing fresh tears to his eyes.

 _Come on,_ he thought, _you can do this, you've been through worse._

He scooted down as far as he could, and slid his arm down until he could touch the hilt of the dagger through his boxers with his fingers, and then slowly, carefully slid the blade out of its sheathe.

Within a few seconds, he held the dagger in his hand, and then began to cut at the ropes securing his wrist, being careful not to accidently cut himself.

 _I'll show that pathetic human why her planet deserves to be taken over_ He thought gleefully, _then I'll return home a hero and I'll finally porpose to Ursula._

With a sharp, but luckily quiet snap, the rope securing his right hand broke, and with moments, he'd cut himself completely free, and sat up, rubbing his sore wrists.

He threw his legs over the side of the bed and spotted his clothes lying in a neat pile on the table near the door of the room.

There was no way he was going trekking through the woods in just his boxers. His pride and dignity would not allow for that, though his survival instincts might.

He slowly stood up, and cried out at the agonizing pain that rushed through his leg. His injured leg gave way an instant later and he landed with a loud thud on the wooden floor, tears streaming down his face.

Breathing hard through his mouth, Rumplestilskin lifted his head, expecting a human to come rushing into the room at any moment, but no one came. Either Belle's guards were deaf, or she had lied. It was likely the latter.

He pushed himself up onto his elbows and dragged himself across the room, trying his best not to whimper from the pin pricks of pain coming from his injured leg. It felt like someone kept stabbing him in his calf with a knife.

He grabbed hold of his white, now stained red with blood, undershirt and put it on, before he threw on his leather vest that provided him with much needed protection from the humans' favorite weapon; hand guns and rifles.

Now it was time for the more difficult(and painful) article of clothing. His trousers and boots.

He grabbed his trousers, and rolled over onto his back, wincing from the pain, and then raised his legs and began wrestling himself into his trousers.

It took several agonizingly painful and tiring minutes for him to get his trousers completely on. By that time, he was panting from extertion, wondering why he was so exhausted by such a simply task. His growling stomach and dry throat reminded him of more pressing needs he had previously been ignoring.

 _First food and water,_ Rumplestilskin decided silently, _then I'll try and find the ship and get a connection running to give the signal to Boov._

Belle's fiancé, a very handsome and muscular man named Gaston came strutting into the library near closing time, just as she had expected him to.

He smiled when he saw her, and swaggered over to where she and Mrs. Potts were putting the last of the books away onto the shelves where they belonged. He stopped just behind them and cleared his throat impatiently several times until Belle finally turned around with a sigh.

"What is it Gaz?" she asked tiredly. Yes, Belle loved her fiancé, he was handsome, and warm, and protective, but he could also be a thorn in her side at times.

"You're having dinner tonight at my place," He sniffed, "Since you missed it yesterday".

Belle sighed, apparently today was going to be one of those days when she and Gaston were on opposite sides of the coin and didn't get along; "I can't Gaston, I'm having dinner at my father's tonight".

"But you owe me a dinner," Gaston said, his eyes narrowing in slight anger, "Can't you reschedule with him?" He folded his arms across his chest, and huffed. When Belle had first seen him do this, she had thought he looked greatly like a pouting child. She still thought he looked like a pouting child.

Speaking of pouting . . . . Belle's eyes widen slightly, and she had to bite her tongue to keep herself from gasping aloud with alarm. She had gone all day without checking in on the alien, and even if he hadn't needed anything when she left, he surely would have to at least use the bathroom by now, and would need water.

 _Come on Belle, the alien needs you right now, think of something to keep your father and Gaston busy enough for you to go check on him and get back in time for dinner_ , Belle thought, panic stricken.

"I have an idea Gaz!" Belle said, trying to sound enthusiastic, "Why don't you join my father and I for dinner at his place. You can go over there now and tell him that I want you at dinner with us. He's making Spagetti, so you can go get the breadsticks for me". She smiled sweetly at him and batted her eyes, hoping he would agree.

Gaston stared hard at her for a moment, then nodded and puffed out his chest importantly, "I'll go get the breadsticks for you Belle, and I'll tell your old man too".

"Ok, I'll just be a while longer so I can help Mrs. Potts finish with the library, then I'll be over there," Belle said.

"I'll see you tonight my little bride," Gaston said, and lumbered to the front door of the library and headed outside to his truck.

Belle waited until his truck was completely out of sight before she turned to Mrs. Potts and said, "I need to go do something really fast before I go to my dad's. Can you finish up without me?"

Mrs. Potts looked surprised, but nodded and smiled reasurringly at her, "Go ahead dear, I've got it covered here".

Belle quickly grabbed her things and ran outside to her car.

Within minutes she was parking at the edge of the forest, with two bags of Grannies' take out with her in the passager's seat. She had stopped at the local diner to get something for the alien to eat and drink.

She kicked the door open and grabbed the bags, before locking her car. She swiftly trotted through the undergrowth until she reached the abandoned cabin that she now knew had once been Mr. Gold's.

She went inside and walked straight to the alien's room. Belle's eyes widened in horror, and she dropped the bags to the floor. The alien was gone!

Rumplestilskin panted heavily, resting against the side of his spaceship. It had taken him nearly an hour and a half of dragging himself through the forest before he had finally found his ship, and two graves where the woman, Belle must've buried his deceased comrades. After his trek through the forest, Rumplestilskin was too exhausted to go inside the ship and get the communication systems working. He would rest for a bit first.

He licked his dry and cracked lips, wishing he could've found a container of water in the cabin, but all he had found was a box of cerial, which he had quickly and ravenously devoured.

After his snack, he had gone outside and relieved himself before he had started looking for his ship. His injured leg still unable to support him.

Rumplestilskin looked at his dagger and placed it back in its sheathed tucked beneath his boxers and trousers, he had held it in his hand the whole time he had been trying to find his ship, not wanting to feel unarmed while going through the strangely familiar forest.

He closed his eyes, knowing that if he was going to pass out that he should drag himself into the interior of the ship to at least have a somewhat decent defense against any passerbys.

Crunch, crunch, snap!

Rumplestilskin opened his eyes at the sound of someone walking through the woods, and stepping on a twig. He glanced around with just his eyes for a moment then his already drooping eyes closed again.

"Hey!" His eyes snapped open, and he drowsily looked up into the face of his captor, Belle.

She was kneeling down beside him, a look of anger and worry on her face. She leaned forward and tied his hands together with a piece of rope.

Rumplestilskin let her, not thinking clearly, and not entirely awake. All he knew was that his eyes were drooping with exhaustion, and he didn't want to move until he had slept some. Even if that meant letting the human taken him captive again.

"Come on you," Belle said. She slipped an arm around his waist and placed his arm around her shoulders before she helped him to his feet. He immediately stumbled, forcing him to brace himself against Belle's side to keep from falling over.

"Go away," he mumbled, knowing that he needed to fight her, needed to keep himself from getting imprisoned by the little human again, "Or I'll make you regret it". It was a threat he wouldn't be able to make good on at the moment, and both of them knew it.

Belle snorted and started to lead him back to her car. She would have to keep a better eye on him for now on. On her search for him through the woods, she had decided it would be better, and easier just to lock him in her closet, and then make sure he couldn't get out of her bedroom or apartment.

"You're in no condition to fight," Belle replied, "So I wouldn't be making threats Mr."

Rumplestilskin snorted, and bettered his grip around her shoulders, steading himself more. Then, without thinking of any possible consequence, he said sleepily, "My name's not Mister. It's Rumplestilskin".

 _This was a really fun chapter to write, so I hope you guys enjoyed it just as much._


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five:

Belle took a deep breath, and after making sure that no one was watching her, slid out of the driver's seat and into the back of her car where the alien, Rumplestilskin was still passed out. She placed her hand on his forehead, and then jerked it back, frowning, her brow creased in worry. He was burning up, and needed better medicine to help him.

She checked again that no one was coming, and then kicked the backseat door open, and turned back to her patient. She hooked her arms around his waist and heaved backward, slowly dragging him out of the vehicle.

Rumplestilskin mumbled something in his sleep, and Belle reached up to pat him on the head, before she started going backwards up the stairs to her apartment.

She rested him against the railing once she made it to the top, and then turned to her door and unlocked it, before she dragged Rumplestilskin into her apartment.

"Mm, what's going on," Rumplestilskin yawned sleepily, and opened his eyes, now glassy with fever. He pushed himself away from her and stumbled across the floor away from the front door only to collapse in a heap near the kitchen.

"Hey, stop moving Rumplestilskin, I need to see your wounds," Belle said, and hurried over to him. She once again pried off his clothes apart from his boxers, and peeled back his bandages to see that his wounds look much worse than they had originally.

Belle put her hand to her mouth, _he needs medical attention, more than I can give him_ , she thought.

Her phone rang, reminding her that she had promised her father dinner along with Gaston, at her father's place.

She stared at it for a few minutes then texted her father that she would be late, right now, there was someone who needed her more than her fiancé and father did. Surely if they knew, they would understand.

Belle had never been much of a doctor, but she did know someone who had been through paramedic training before following another position in food arts.

She quickly dialed Ruby's number. And within moments, her friend picked up.

"Hello?" Ruby asked.

"Hey, Ruby, It's Belle," Belle said, sitting down on the floor next to the alien, who had curled up in the fetal position, whimpering softly in his sleep, "Is your granny there? Can I talk to her please? It's urgent".

"Uh, ok," Ruby replied, "Is everything ok?"

"It will be, I just need to talk to her real quick,"

"Alright, here she is—"

"Hello?" Widow Lucas's voice said over the phone line.

"Hey, you were telling the truth about working as a paramedic right?" Belle asked quietly, not wanting Ruby to over hear her on the other line.

"Yes, why?"

"Can you come over to my apartment right now, I'll explain everything once you get here, but don't tell anyone ok, it's kind of a secret," Belle said.

"Ok, but Belle," Granny said.

"Ok, hurry over, thanks!" Belle said, and promptly hung up the phone. She quickly got up and went into the kitchen, taking care not to step or trip over the sleeping alien, and grabbed more medical supplies from the cabinet.

A few minutes later, Ruby and Widow Lucas came in, and their eyes instantly became as big as moons.

Ruby put her hands over her mouth, staring awe struck at Belle who was crouched down beside Rumplestilskin.

"Let me explain," Belle started to say, but Ruby cut her off, rushing over to the alien.

"I don't believe it Belle! You have an unconscious and strange man in your living room that's wearing nothing more than his boxers! You better be explaining!" Ruby exclaimed, then her eyes caught sight of his infected wounds, and she quickly called Granny over.

Granny walked over to them, and set down her medical bag, and inspected Rumplestilskin. She lifted one of his hands, and placed her fingers on his pulse-point, and stared at his claws, then she set his hand down and probed one of his chest wounds that Belle had already stitched.

"He's not human is he?" she said, and turned to her bag and dug through it until she found a container of medicine and opened it.

"No, he's an alien, I found him on the night of my engagement party, his ship crashed," Belle explained. "Can you help him?"

Ruby looked up at Belle, her mouth open in shock, "He's an alien?"

Granny snorted, "Leave it to you to be the only person who would try and save an invader". The older woman took a small yellow pill out of a bottle and had Belle open Rumplestilskin's mouth so that she could place it on the back of his tongue. She grabbed a water bottle that Ruby had retrieved from the kitchen and poured some water into his mouth, washing the pill down his throat.

Next, Granny had them wash him down with wash cloths, and a bucket that they filled with water from the kitchen, while she cleaned his wounds.

A quiet beep from Belle's phone alerted her that her father and fiancé were starting to worry about her; she had missed dinner with them.

"You were supposed to be with your father I take it?" Granny asked, not looking up from where she was gently probing Rumplestilskin's leg.

"Or your cute fiancé," Ruby added with a smirk.

Belle sighed, and rubbed her face with her hands, "Yeah, can you tell them that I'm helping you guys with something, I want to keep an eye on him". She gave a pointed look at Rumplestilskin and explained, "He's already escaped once on his own and I don't want to take any more chances of him being seen by someone who'll hurt him".

"Sure," Granny said, taking her phone out of her pocket, "But you're going to need a plan for the long run".

Ruby stood up, and brushed herself off before grabbing hold of one of the water buckets, "Yeah like what happens when he gets better? Do we just throw him out into the work force?"

Ruby then walked away from then and into the kitchen to refresh the water.

"I don't know, I'll figure it out once we get him on the road to recovery," Belle said, and reached forward to run her fingers through Rumplestilskin's soft hair.

He mumbled something in his sleep, and snuggled up to Belle until he was lying on her lap. He yawned and mumbled something again, curling up into a ball, just like a cat.

Ruby came back into the room and set the bucket of water down, trying to hide her Cheshire grin, "Hey maybe you can keep him as a pet".

"Yeah right," Belle snorted, "Rumplestilskin's more feral than anybody I know".

Granny and Ruby exchanged a look, then said in unison, "Rumplestilskin?"

"Oh," Belle looked down at the alien curled up on her lap and shrugged, "I kept calling him Mr. and just before he passed out, he told me to call him Rumplestilskin."

"Well," Granny stood up, and placed her medical supplies back into her bag, "He should be better in a few days, all we can do for him now is to keep him fed, watered and make sure he rests. But if I were you Belle, I would start thinking of what to do with him once he is better".

Belle sighed and nodded, "Yeah, I know."

Ruby moved over to where Belle was, and rested her hand on her shoulder comfortingly, "Don't worry Belle, I think I've got a plan as to what to do with him when he's better".

"Really," Belle looked back at her friend hopefully.

"Yeah," Ruby nodded confidently, "We either get him to become a permedent resident or we can keep him prisoner, what happens to him depends on him".

Belle sighed, it wasn't much of a plan, but it was a start. She would have to hope to gain his trust, and maybe just maybe he could become a resident of the town, and she wouldn't have to control him for the rest of his life.

If there was one thing Belle didn't want, it was to control someone else's fate.

Suddenly, Rumplestilskin nuzzled her stomach, and murmured, "Mm, go to seep Bae".

Belle shushed him quietly while Ruby and Granny chuckled.

"Tell us when he wakes up, I want to embarrass him about snuggling up against you," Ruby said, giving a little bounce of excitement, her eyes gleaming.

 _Don't forget to favorite or follow if you like this story, anyway hope you like it!_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six:

Drip, drip, drip.

Rumplestilskin awoke to the sound of dripping water. He was lying on a queen sized bed in a small room overrun with books. The shades were drawn, and the door was closed, making the room very dark.

He stared at the ceiling fan, watching it go around and around . . .

"Has he woken up yet?" Belle's voice sounded from the other room, and then another more unfamiliar female voice answered.

"No, sorry Belle."

Rumplestilskin shivered, fear already creeping down his spine. He had been right, Belle had taken him to her authorties and now the government humans were going to do terrible things to him, horrible things.

 _No! I won't let them. I've got to get out of here!_ Rumplestilskin sat up, his huge night shirt billowing around him.

He stretched, his muscles stiff, and then hopped down off of the downy soft bed. His injured leg blazed with pain, but it supported his weight this time.

He took one step and his extra-large night pants fell down, causing him to trip over them and land with a loud thud on the floor.

"Did you hear that? He's awake!" Belle sounded excited by this, and he heard two sets of footsteps heading towards the room he was in.

Rumplestilskin groaned, and sat up, pulling up his pants just before the door swung open and Belle and a strange woman burst in, looking anxious.

He glared at them, "The least you could do was give me a set of clothes that fit!" he hissed in his most unnerving high pitched voice. He let go off his pants, which instantly dropped to the floor, for emphasize.

Belle chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of her head, "Sorry, I only had my father's clothes on hand".

Rumplestilskin narrowed his eyes at her, something wasn't right. If he was at a government facility why wasn't he tied down to a silver table with men in white coats looking down on him and running strange tests? Or was this woman trying to test him?

"Would you rather we left you naked save for your underwear, cause that would be easier," the stranger said. She folded her arms across her chest and smirked.

Rumplestilskin huffed, "You humans are so pathetic, at least my kind properly dresses our prisonars". He leaned down and pulled his pants back up, trying to find a way to get them to stay up on their own.

The strange woman and Belle exchanged an amused look, and Belle shook her head, while her friend's eyes gleamed with mischief, "I wouldn't be talking Rumplestilskin," she said, "Considering when you were sleeping you snuggled right up onto Belle's lap like a little puppy".

"Ruby! I thought we agreed not to say anything bout that!" Belle exclaimed. She leaned over and grabbed her friend's arm and pulled her back.

Rumplestilskin's eyes widened, and he gawked at them, letting go of his pants again, "Ho-wh-how'd you know my name!"

Belle sighed and slapped her friend's arm in annoyance. Ruby giggled and bounded out of the room, before she burst out laughing, "Sorry Belles, I couldn't resist".

Rumplestilskin lunged forward and grabbed Belle's arm, earning her attention back, "Answer my question little human," he snarled.

Belle spun around and held up a little silver canister and pressed down on it. Instantly a fiery spray came out and landed straight in his eyes, "Don't attack me!" she yelped.

The spray burned his eyes, and Rumplestilskin let go of her immediately and started clawing at his eyes. "Ow! Ow! What'd you do! What was that?"

He hopped from foot to foot, and continued to claw blindly at his eyes, trying to get the painful spray out of them, but ended up slipping on the huge night pants pooling around his ankles and landing on his back.

"What happened!" Ruby burst back into the room, her eyes scanning the room. She took in Belle's startled facial expression, and Rumplestilskin's pained one, then she said, "You used the pepper spray on him didn't you?"

Rumplestilskin jerked back when he felt Belle's hand on his, pulling it away from his face to inspect his eyes, "Sorry, you spooked me," she apologized.

He ripped his hand away from hers, and scowled, "You didn't answer my question little human".

Belle sat kneeled down in front of him, and rested her hands on her lap, watching him carefully, "you told me, just before you passed out a few days ago," she explained then stuck her hand out towards him. "How about we just start over, I'm Belle French, and this is my good friend Ruby Lucas".

Rumplestilskin stared at her hand, and then warily reached forward and shook her hand with just his index finger and thumb. If she wanted to play a stupid game, well then he could play along and find a way to win it without her noticing. He'd just gain her trust and then contact his allies and take her back to his planet as a prisoner.

"Rumplestilskin," he purred in his most gentle man voice, then stood up and gave a little bow, grinning like a naughty school boy as he stood back up.

Belle chuckled and got to her feet, "Ok, so now that we've had a proper introduction, why don't we go eat some dinner, and then Ruby or I can go get you some proper clothes".

Rumplestilskin pointed at Belle accusingly, "You're just trying to get under my skin so you can learn the monster's weaknesses, nyah-ninina".

Ruby snorted, and Belle smiled at him as she said, "You're not a monster, you're just different". She stepped closer to him and rested her hand on his, "Now, come on, let's get something to eat".

She and Ruby left the room, leaving him nothing to do but follow them out into the hall of the house.

The scent of cooking food had Rumplestilskin's nose twitching away as he surveyed what must be Belle's living space.

She had a small couch situated in front of a tv sitting on a small stand with a stack of dvds and books in front of it. Off to the other side of the room was a door that led into what must be the bathroom, while an opening in the wall led to the kitchen.

Belle and Ruby made their way into the kitchen, while Rumplestilskin flopped down on the couch; his bad leg was killing him.

Rumplestilskin stared at the dark purple bruising along the side of his calf. Already the bruise was starting to fade as it healed, but he could tell from the pain emanating from the wound that it had caused some sort of damage to the muscle.

He sighed and looked around the room, taking in the pile of clothes lying on the floor near the door to the woman's apartment.

He got up and limped over to them, and picked up a sweatshirt with the logo STorybrooke Maine in big green letters on the front. He stared at, silently wondering why it held such appeal to him.

"Rumplestilskin! Food's done!" Belle yelled from the kitchen.

Startled, Rumplestilskin dropped the sweatshirt, and glanced over his shoulder to see Belle coming into the room along with Ruby. Belle was carrying two plates full of spaghetti and meatballs.

Rumplestilskin turned around to face her as she approached him. Rumplestilskin smirked, and folded his arms across his chest, "Trying to poison me already dearie?" he quipped.

"If I wanted you dead, I could have just left you in the woods," Belle pointed out and sat down on the couch while Ruby walked over to the door behind Rumplestilskin. He jumped away from her, watching her warily while she unlocked the door with a key from her pocket and headed outside. A moment later, the door shut and clicked, announcing that Ruby had just relocked it.

"Here," Belle said, holding out a plate towards him, "I thought we could eat while Ruby goes and gets you some clothes to wear."

Rumplestilskin walked over to her and grabbed the plate, before moving away from her and finally settling down on the floor beside the tv stand to eat. "Why didn't you go get me clothes while she watched me?" he inquired before taking a huge bite.

Belle snorted, "Excuse me? I have a fiancé. I can't just go shopping for a guy that's not him. It'd make me look like I was cheating on him!"

Rumplestilskin looked up at her, "fiancé? How adorable. True love, such a fickle thing". He giggled and shoved the last of his spaghetti into his mouth, before he chewed noisily and swallowed.

"Oh!" Belle put her plate off to the side and went over to him, only to grab a book from the stack in front of the TV, "That reminds me, what's your favorite kind of story? I can read one similar to the ones you like".

He huffed, "Doubtful". _She's good, even for an actress. But I'm no fool, she just wants me to reveal all my planet's plans to her, but that'll never happen._

Belle went back over to the couch and curled up on it, settling the book in her lap, "Alright, I'll just read this one to you, its called Inuyasha. Its about this girl in Japan who—"

"Yeah, yeah," Rumplestilskin waved his hand, feeling boredom start to creep in, "Just read it already".

Belle huffed, _he doesn't have to be so rude, I'm trying to be nice. Still, I can't imagine what this must be like for him. To be taken in not only by strangers but by an alien. He must be so frightened._

"My name's Kagome, and my family has lived on this sanctuary ever since my grandfather bought it years ago. He wanted to live here to protect the dry well," Belle's voice slowly spun a tale of love and adventure for the two of them.

She was so engrossed in the story that she gave a start when Ruby came barging into the apartment with at least a dozen shopping bags in her arms, "I didn't know which ones he'd like or would fit, so I got a few extra clothes".

Belle closed the book after marking the page and turned to face Rumplestilskin who was still sitting on the floor, watching her, "The bathroom's over there," she said and gestured towards the bathroom door, "Why don't you go take a shower and then try on some of the clothes Ruby got you?"

"Why? Do I smell dearie?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows playfully at her. He stood up and made his way over to the bathroom, followed by Ruby who threw the bags onto the bathroom floor before she went back into the front room and shut the bathroom door behind her, locking him in.

They weren't worried about him finding a weapon to use against them in the bathroom; in the three days since they'd first moved him into Belle's apartment, they made sure to confiscate anything that could be used as a weapon and had taken it to Ruby and her grandmother's house.

Belle rubbed her temples and sighed, "How am I going to explain a full grown man living in my apartment to Gaston and my father if they ever find out?"

Ruby shrugged, and sat down beside her, "Tell them the truth," she suggested.

Belle snorted and stood up, waving her hands about for emphasize, "My father may believe and understand that with a little time, but Gaston? Phtt! His head can be as thick as a brick wall sometimes!"

Ruby frowned, "You don't love him do you?"

Belle sighed again and shook her head, "No, I don't".

"Then why are you marrying him Belles?" Ruby asked, her brow furrowed in worry. In the bathroom, they heard the shower turn off and the padding of wet feet on the floor as Rumplestilskin dried himself off with the towel the women had left in there for him.

"My father's shop went bankrupt Ruby; his father is one of the richest men in town. Gaston promised me that if I married him, he'd make sure my father never had to worry about financial issues ever again," Belle confessed quietly, "I didn't want to, but that shop is all I have left of my mom, and dad would've struggled to get by if he ever lost the shop".

Ruby stood up and placed her hands on Belle's shoulders, "Belle, look, I promise we'll find a way to get you out of this loveless marriage and find a way to save your father's shop, we still have nine months before the wedding to figure it out, ok?"

Belle smiled sadly at her friend and nodded, placing her hand over one of Ruby's, "Thank you Ruby".

At that precise moment, Rumplestilskin stepped out of the bathroom, his hair dripping wet, but clean. He wore a red dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and a pair of black dress pants. His feet were protected by a simple pair of black socks and a pair of old sneakers Ruby had bought from one of her ex's. A purple tie and black suit jacket lay folded over one of his arms.

He raised an eyebrow, "Am I interrupting something?" he asked.

Belle shook her head and walked over to him. Rumplestilskin frowned when she took the tie from him, and stared at her in confusion until she reached up and carefully placed it correctly around his neck. Then she stepped back and surveyed her work.

"You look nice," She told him, feeling the butterflies erupt in her stomach again. She couldn't help but feel a little protective of him since she had been the one caring for him for nearly a week now.

"I always dress to impress dearie," he replied, putting the suit jacket on and smoothing it down after he had put it on.

Ruby cleared her throat to get Belle's attention, and tapped her wrist, reminding her of the time.

"Oh right," Belle said, and turned back to Rumplestilskin, "Ruby's going to watch you tonight, I'm having dinner with my father and fiancé, I'll see you later".

She went over to the door and opened it, just about to step outside when she turned her head to look back at him, "Behave," she told him and then went out and shut the door behind her, making sure to lock it.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven:

Over the next few days, they settled into a routine. In the morning, either Belle or Ruby would come to Belle's apartment and relieve the other of their guard duty of Rumplestilskin who had taken to either sleeping on the couch, or on the floor. To him, sleeping in Belle's bed would be far too personal. During the afternoon while the woman who had been on night guard duty slept, the other would watch Rumplestilskin, then Granny would go up and watch him, while both women attended to their jobs.

Unfortunately, none of the women would be able to keep up this routine for much longer. People, especially their friends, and Belle's fiancé had noticed their periods of continued absence. Eventually, they would have to leave him alone on his own in the apartment, and that was just the day the women were dreading and the one that Rumplestilskin looked forward to.

And that day happened to be today. Ruby and Granny had to work all day at the diner thanks to the annual Miner's festival, and Belle had to work extra shifts at the library to cover the ones she'd been missing of late.

Rumplestilskin was currently using a few bobby pins Belle had left in her bedroom to unlock her bedroom door. With a satisfying little click, the door opened, and he pranced gleefully into her living room, until he stumbled due to his bad leg. It seemed that despite all of his other injuries having healed, his leg wound would not. And that was what truly scared him; back on his home world, anyone incapable of working was sent to "Lake Lygoo", and once they went there, they were never the same. The same went for anyone who turned traitor.

He had had a friend named Kyu once, and after his friend had lost his right arm, he had been sent there. Rumplestilskin had gone over to the nano-human's house after Kyu had returned, but his friend hadn't reconized him, or even remembered him for that matter. And Rumplestilskin refused to let that become his fate. He would find a way to fix his leg, no matter what it took, but first he had a job to do.

Rumplestilskin limped across the floor and once again used the bobby pins to unlock the front door, and then warily stepped outside.

Bright sunlight almost immediately blinded him, and it took several moments for his eyes to adjust.

He was standing on a small balcony like structure, with stairs off to the side that led down to ground level. Below Belle's apartment, just like she'd mentioned once when she was watching him, was the library where she worked with some old woman.

Rumplestilskin smirked, having spotted the forest in the distance. He would go and find the spaceship, contact his allies, tell them to go ahead with the invasion and then go back to Belle's apartment. Hopefully he would beat the women back to the apartment, that way, he could fool them into thinking he was becoming "domesticated" but then fool them all when the war ships came.

Rumplestilskin giggled impishly, and forced himself to change into a more human form, as was an ability of his kind. His skin no longer looked greenish gold, but was tan instead, and his claws had vanished in place of normal finger nails. The only inhuman characteristic that remained was his reptillian amber eyes.

"Where are you going Mrs. Potts?" Belle asked as she noticed the older woman had filed in her vacation days for an entire two weeks off, starting today. Apparently the woman would be leaving in an hour.

Mrs. Potts looked up from where she was putting books back on the shelf and glanced over at Belle who was sitting behind the front desk, a book open in front of her. She had been reading up on aliens to learn more about Rumplestilskin's species, but so far, she had learned nothing of value.

"I'm heading to Boston to visit my employer's son, Baelfire. He's living with a friend of his, while he looks for— never mind it's not important, anyway, I'm sure you can manage the library on your own during my absence," Mrs. Potts told her.

Belle tilted her head to the side in confusion, "What are they looking for?" she asked her quietly.

Mrs. Potts gave a quiet sigh, "Its not important dear, anyway, I must be going". She placed the last book from the cart onto the shelf and walked back to the backroom to deposit the kart before she waved goodbye to Belle as she headed out the front door.

Belle sighed and looked down at the book on her lap, "Speaking of important matters, what am I going to do with Rumplestilskin?"

It didn't take him long to locate the spaceship, Belle hadn't done anything to cover it up or even try to conceal it, but that was all the better for him. Someone would see it, call the authorities, and then they would spend their efforts looking for a lost little alien instead of preparing to defend off the alien invaders soon to come.

He hauled himself into the ship, and went into the control part of the ship. He tore open the side of the control center, and began ripping out wire to use on the broken radio. Within minutes, he had reconnected with his home planet.

"Hello?" the radio voice cracked, and fizzed, but came out fairly clear.

"Zelena, its me, Captain Rumplestilskin of mission four—oh—oh—seven, Nimua and Zoso are deceased. I've been captured by the enemy, but managed to escape for a few hours while they were not watching. The invasion is a go, I repeat, the invasion is a go," Rumplestilskin said, relaying all of the vital information he knew the head council of his planet would need to record and mark down in the files.

"Rumplestilskin you're alive! We believed you to have been shot down by the enemy!" Zelena's annoying voice badgered on the other end. Rumplestilskin huffed, of course it had to be Zelena that answered his transmission.

"No, tell the council to go ahead with the invasion, I'm being held captive by civilians trying to gain my trust but it won't work. Rumplestilskin, over and out," he said with finality in his words. He shut off the radio and placed it in a small hiding place in the floor then left the spaceship.

With the ability to change color, much like a chameleon, Rumplestilskin could now walk among the humans without fear of being called out as an alien, for he looked just like any other ordinary human. A trait that had once served him well when he had first met Milah.

Boom, boom thud!

The sound of music caught his attention. Rumplestilskin turned his head, and spun around in a small circle as well as his bad leg would allow, trying to locate the source of the sound. It reminded him of something, but the something he could not remember.

He followed the sound to the main square of the town, and found that it had been filled with dozens, upon dozens of booths, as well as banners with the words, Miner's Festival painted on them. A band played on a stage near a large fountain, while people swarmed around the square, going to booth to booth.

Rumplestilskin stared at the festival going on, completely fascinated by it. His planet never participated in such events; they were believed to be wastes of time and useless. He couldn't recall in his known memory of ever seeing one up close before, but his gut told him there was something strangely familiar about the scene.

Belle gave a sigh of relief when it was finally time to close the library for the day. She locked the door and was about to head upstairs to check on Rumplestilskin when she remembered his bad leg. He had been limping ever since she had saved him on the night that his spaceship had crashed. No matter how much the stubborn man claimed that he was fine, it was clear to Belle that his leg was still causing him pain.

 _I think I'll go to the grocery story down the street and get him a nice cane to use_ she decided silently.

She headed down the street, humming along to the sound of the band playing at the Minor's festival in the distance. She was about to head into the grocery store when a familiar voice stopped her.

"Belle French! We need to talk now!" Belle turned around to see Gaston glaring down at her, his eyes narrowed in cold fury.

She folded her arms across her chest and replied coolly, "What do you want Gaston?" She stared up at him defiantly, knowing what he was angry about. She had been avoiding him ever since he had tried to bed her on the very same night she and Rumplestilskin had agreed to start over in their relationship.

Gaston huffed angrily and grabbed hold of her arm, his grip like iron. "We're going home right now, and going to have a nice dinner. You've been avoiding me my dear little wife".

Belle swatted at his hand, but it was no use, he was much stronger than she was, "Little wife?" she scoffed, "Not yet I'm not! And if you keep acting like this, I never will be!" She pried at his hand with her free one, trying to loosen his grip. By now, they had attracted some attention from passerbys, but no one came to Belle's aid much to her frustration and fear.

Gaston brought his face close to hers, his eyes dark, "Unless you want your father to loose everything, you'd best come home with me now Belle," he hissed in a low voice.

Belle glared at him, she knew he wouldn't hesitate about cutting ties with her father, but she couldn't spend the rest of her life tied to this oaf!

She leaned forward, acting like she was about to kiss him, then socked him right in the face, causing him to shout aloud with pain and stumble back, letting go of her arm to catch himself.

Belle bolted the moment he let go of her, and headed straight towards the festival, hoping to lose him in the big crowds that always resided there.

"Get back here! You belong to me!" Gaston bellowed furiously, and thundered after her. He caught up to her just as she reached the outskirts of the festival, unfortunately, when people saw Gaston's furious expression, they just ignored Belle's cries for help. So much for being safer in a crowd.

"Belle!" She heard Killian yell, but even from where she stood, she could tell he was too far away to do her any good.

Gaston pinned her arms behind her back, and then pinned her to the wall, leaning forward to kiss her.

"Get off of me!" she screeched, and knocked her head into his chin, causing her head to blaze with pain for a moment, but then Gaston braced his fore arm against her neck, holding her in place while he caressed the side of her face, then leaned forward and—

"Ow!" Gaston roared, and spun around, dropping Belle, who fell to the ground, her body trembling in fright. She looked up to see who had come to her rescue and gasped. It was the one person who wasn't supposed to be there. Rumplestilskin.

He looked much different than before. His skin was tan instead of greenish gold, and he had no claws or fangs, but instead had normal nails and teeth. The only thing alien about him was his reptilian amber eyes, now blazing with unmasked hatred and fury.

Gaston snorted, he was nearly twice Rumplestilskin's size, and obviously had no fear of the strange man standing before him, "Get lost little man, this doesn't concern you!"

Rumplestilskin bared his teeth, "This young lady seems to not wish you to touch her, so I'd say this does concern me, not go scamper off to some rat hole lad or you'll be wishing you never laid eyes on me".

Belle stared open mouthed at him. She had no doubt in her mind that there was an evil and very dangerous side to Rumplestilskin, but the fact that he had gotten loose but had still come to her rescue shocked her. But then to her horror, his claws and fangs reappeared, and his skin turned back to its usual green hue.

Gaston's eyes widened in surprise, but the oaf was too stupid to register the power radiating off of his opponent in waves. Rumplestilskin was someone not to be crossed.

"I'm not afraid of you Gold!" Gaston sneered, and then he lunged. He punched at Rumplestilskin's face, but the smaller man easily avoided the blow, and then slashed his claws down the much bigger man's chest, drawing blood.

Gaston roared with anger, and threw his arms around Rumplestilskin's waist, lifting him up in what could be easily be mistaken for a hug, but Belle knew that Gaston was trying to break his ribs.

Rumplestilskin spat and rived in the bigger man's clutches, but it didn't affect Gaston, who merely squeezed him tighter, cutting off the alien's air supply. Suddenly Rumplestilskin leaned down, and bit down hard on Gaston's arm; Gaston screamed in pain as blood dripped down from the wound.

"Belle!" she turned to see Killian, Emma, and David, whom she'd only met twice, running towards her. All of their eyes widened when they saw the two fighting men near her.

David helped Belle to her feet, while Emma and Killian gawked at Rumplestilskin.

"I don't believe it! Mr. Gold! He's back!" Emma exclaimed.

"Why the hell is his skin green!" Killian blurted out, "He looks like a crocodile now!" He and Emma then lunged at Gaston, pulling on the large man's arms until he dropped Rumplestilskin, who rolled onto his back and leapt to his feet, swearing like a feign.

"Rumple!" Belle ran over to him, and wrapped her arms around him in a fierce hug. She buried her face in the crook of his neck, breathing in the piney scent of him, then looked up at him, tears in the corners of her eyes.

"Thank you for saving me," she whispered hoarsely while Emma radioed Sheriff Gram to go arrest Gaston on charges of assault. Killian and David just gawked at Rumplestilskin like he was the ghost of Christmas past.

Belle let go of the confused and startled alien to realize that Rumplestilskin once again looked like a normal human instead of an alien, though his eyes remained alien.

"Mr. Gold," Emma said softly, approaching the alien warily, "You're back, what—how did you do that? What are you?"

Belle looked over at her friends and realized that they thought he was the mysterious Mr. Gold, who'd vanished a year before Belle herself had arrived in town, along with her father, Moe French.

"Who?" Rumplestilskin met Emma's stare challengingly, then moved to stand behind Belle, and placed his hands on her shoulders, and peered over her left shoulder to watch the other humans warily.

Belle opened her mouth to start explaining to her friends, but then Ruby, Regina and Mary Margaret came running up to them, eyes wide with panic.

"Belle! Rumplestilskin's not in the apartment anymore! He—" Ruby cut off when she saw the alien standing behind Belle, watching them curiously.

"Wait!" Killian said, "You guys were holding him captive? How? Belle, you weren't even here when he went missing!"

Emma slapped him, "Really Killian? Belle would never kidnap someone".

"Then why has he just now showed up after vanishing five years ago!" David pointed an accusing finger at Rumplestilskin who remained strangely quiet.

"Because he's not Mr. Gold!" Mary Margaret told them, gesturing towards the forest, "He's an alien, and Belle saved him after his spaceship crashed! Ruby and her have been taking care of him."

Then Regina added when Belle looked at them in surprise, "Ruby told us everything when she could find him or you."

"Sorry Belles, I was really worried about you," Ruby explained, then frowned, "But that is weird. He does look like Mr. Gold."

Emma nodded in agreement, an eyebrow raised, "Except for his eyes, and Mr. Gold's hair was shorter".

"And it was a darker brown," Killian added.

"And his nose wasn't crooked," David said.

"What are you talking about Dearies?" Rumplestilskin snarled, his voice no longer taking on the high pitched quality Belle had always heard him speak with, obviously not understanding that he apparently was Mr. Gold's double-ganger.

" "How about we go for a walk around the festival, and you two,"—Regina pointed at Belle and Ruby—"Can explain to us a bit more in depth about what's really going on".


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight:

After Belle and Ruby explained everything they knew about the situation, Regina and Killian ended up questioning Rumplestilskin, who limped ahead of them at Belle's side. Mainly they want to know why he had even been flying over Earth in the first place, and how his species could change color.

Rumplestilskin didn't like being questioned, but he had long ago learned to lie with ease, so he went with the most natural answer, "My kind, the Nano-Humans, are fascinated by your species. We've found other planets with intelligent beings, but they were never as close to ours as yours is."

"And the ability to change color?" David prompted.

Rumplestilskin glanced back at them, and shrugged, "We've always been able to do so. Much the same way your chamelions can".

After that the others seemed satisfied, though Belle's curiosity in his species had only increased. She wanted to know what his planet was like, how their government worked, how their ships worked, when they had first discovered Earth, what his life had been like on his home planet.

Belle's friends didn't have the same interest in his life as she did, and soon grew bored of talking and started going to the booths and playing carnival games or would stop and chat with other humans Rumplestilskin didn't recognize.

Within half an hour of wandering around the festival, Belle and Rumplestilskin had lost sight of Belle's friends, so they continued walking around by themselves.

"My planet's called Boov, and we have a government very similar to your United States, only we have a head council instead of president, that are elected, they run pretty much everything on my planet, we found Earth only a few years ago and have been sending small missionary ships out to observe your kind," Rumplestilskin said. He wasn't afraid of telling her this information, it would do nothing to help her in the long run. Plus, it would assist him in gaining more of her trust.

Belle smiled, pleased that he was beginning to open up to her. She decided that it was best to ask a little bit about his life and then tell him a little of hers, just to be fair; "That man you saved me from earlier, his name is Gaston. He was my fiancé but that was only because he had the money to save my father's business. I never cared for him, he was too superficial."

"So that betrothal is no longer in agreement?" Rumplestilskin asked, he gestured to a small picnic table, and they went over and sat down. He groaned a little as he sat. His leg was throbbing from being used so much.

"No, it's over between Gaston and me," Belle said, she was sitting on the top of the table, while he was sitting on the seat.

She sighed and leaned towards him a little, "No, to me love is layered, love is a mystery to be uncovered. I would have never given my heart to someone like Gaston, even if I had married him. It never would have lasted."

She smiled at him again and then said, "And what about you? Do you have a family?"

Rumplestilskin stared at her for a moment, wondering if he should lie again. But then he realized that it didn't matter if he told her the truth, it was harmless information in the long run. But, if he was truly being honest with himself, it was because deep down, he wanted to tell someone, wanted to tell her.

Rumplestilskin looked down at his hands in his lap, and shrugged, "A long time ago I did. I had a wife, and we had a son. But it was not meant to end happily. My wife left me, and m-my s-son. He uh, he's gone. "

Belle frowned, and reached out to take one of his hands in hers. Rumplestilskin looked up and met her gaze. Had her eyes always been so beautiful?

"I'm sorry," Belle said softly, her thumb rubbing against the back of his hand. The small motion sent shivers down his spine, but for once it wasn't an unpleasant sensation.

"It wasn't your fault Belle," he whispered softly, feeling a strange warmth flood through him.

Belle smiled at him, and nodded, "I know, but I wish it could've ended better for you". At that moment, Rumplestilskin decided that he liked it very much when she smiled. It made her look even prettier.

Belle watched him. He didn't seem to be bothered by her hand in his, which pleased her greatly. It made her even happier that for the first time, he had called her by her name instead of calling her Dearie or little human as he normally did.

They sat in a companionable silence for a while longer, then Belle suggested that they get something to drink and go have a little fun before the fireworks began in half an hour.

The ended up ordering tea at a booth, and sat down in the shade of a nearby tree, happily drinking their beverage, and chatting quietly about mundane things.

Rumplestilskin felt more content at the moment than he had in a long time. But then excitement coursed through him when he spotted an object he had thought he would never see on Earth.

"A spinning wheel," he crowed happily, and in his rush to stand up, he accidently dropped his cup, and it spilled all over the grass.

Belle gave a small squeak of surprise and stood up as well to avoid getting wet from the spilled tea. Terror clutched at Rumplestilskin's heart with its cold hand. Surely his captor would be angry.

He stooped down, and picked up the cup, biting his lower lip nervously. "I-I'm sorry, but it chipped," he told her quietly, holding up the cup for her to see.

"It's just a cup," Belle told him. She took it from his hand, and placed it, along with her own empty cup into her purse, before she reached out and took his hand in hers, "Now what were you so excited about?" she asked, curious as to what could cause him so much joy.

Rumplestilskin smiled, and eagerly led her over to the booth where an older woman was attempting to teach people how to spin wool into yarn.

"May I try?" he asked the woman, who seemed shocked by his interest.

"O-of course you can Mr. Gold," the woman said, more than a little surprised to see him. "Do you need me to show you."

"No, I know how," he told her, and sat down at a wheel, and began to quickly turn the wool into yarn with an expert hand.

Belle smiled, and rested her hand on his shoulder, "Why do you like spinning so much?" she asked. She had never met anyone who had found it to be such a joy before.

Rumplestilskin paused in his spinning, "I like to watch the wheel at work, helps me forget".

Belle frowned, confused, "Forget what?"

Rumplestilskin tilted his head to the side, and looked back at her, "I guess it worked," he quipped. She laughed at that, and it sent a thrill of happiness through him. He smiled at her, and then continued to spin.

Suddenly Belle leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Stay put, I'll be right back". Then she quickly hurried away to another booth nearby. He waited a moment, then stopped spinning and followed after her as fast as his limp would allow.

He wanted to make sure she wasn't reporting anything to any government officials, or at least that's what he told himself. When in reality, he just wanted to be near her; she had a sort of charisma about her that had lit his world on fire.

She was at a booth with canes and walking sticks, talking with the owner, and gesturing wildly about with her hands. Next door to the booth she was at looked like a mini flower garden, and beyond that was a mini library booth.

A sudden tap on his shoulder startled him out of his thoughts, and he turned to see the spinning wheel booth woman holding out a small bag of coins for him to take. He stared at her blankly until she explained that it was for making so much yarn and leaving it for her to sell.

He smiled and nodded at the woman, and took the small plastic bag of money from her, and then turned back around to watch Belle. She was still happily talking with the booth owner, so he decided to get her a little present as a thank you for allowing him to spend the rest of the day at the festival instead of being locked up in her apartment.

He went over to the garden booth and after a moment of looking around bought a beautiful re rose and proceeded to go over to the library booth where he bought two books, before he headed back to the cane booth where Belle had finally made her purchase.

"Hey," he said, drawing her attention away from the spinning wheel booth across from the cane booth, to himself. She smiled when she saw him and shook her head.

"I thought I said to stay put," she said, hiding something behind her back, just as he did with his purchases.

He shrugged and smirked, "the woman gave me some money for making so much yarn. So I decided to get you a thank you for letting me explore a little. He took the rose out from behind his back and showed it to her, saying, "Here, if you'll have it".

She gave a little bow to him, which he swiftly returned and then took the rose from him. She gave it a delicate sniff and then took a cane out from behind her back, handing it to him. "Here," she said, "This is for your leg, so you can walk without hurting so much".

He held the cane in his free hand and inspected it. It was a black cane with a golden handle. He liked it, though he doubted he would need it for much longer. His leg was soon to recover, wasn't it.

"Thank you," he said, leaning on the cane a little. He gave a small sigh of relief, it did take some of the weight off his leg, and made the pain lessen.

He took the bag of books out from behind his back and gave it to her, "I got these two, I thought you would like them," he said.

She took them from him, and then stepped forward to hug him, taking care not to crush the rose. After only a moment of hesitation, he wrapped his arms around him, inhaling her scent.

Maybe it wasn't so bad on Earth after all.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine:

Rumplestilskin took to staying at the cabin in the woods. He and Belle furnished it up for someone living in it. The fridge was stocked; the beds in the two bedrooms had new blankets, sheets and pillows. The washer had new soap.

He still wasn't allowed to be completely alone, either David or Killian would stay with him. Killian and David taught him board games,(his favorite was monopoly), and played them with him almost every chance they got.

Belle, Ruby, Regina, Emma and Mary Margaret would take him around town, and let him explore the town more.

While in the morning he would often stay with Belle while she worked over time at the library. She was trying her hardest to keep herself as well as her father afloat now that they no longer had Gaston's family's support.

He would sit at one of the tables and watch her as she worked. Or would assist her by putting the returned books back on the shelf, or he would simply read a book that Belle had picked out for him.

One day he even met Belle's father, Moe French, when he had come into the library to see his daughter. Apparently, Moe's business was doing better now, and that had relieved some of the pressure on Belle to work so hard.

In the evenings, the small group of them, occasionally occupied by Emma and Regina's son Henry, would go out somewhere and just hand out. Usually at the park or Grannies. Once or twice they hung at the library after it had closed.

At first Rumplestilskin had been confused over how Regina and Emma shared a son when they weren't married, and were both female. But eventually, Belle and Mary Margaret had explained to him that Emma was his biological mother would had been forced to give him up because of the problems her ex, Henry's father, a man named Steve had cause for her. While Regina was his adopted mother. Both had eventually wound up in the young boy's life.

During that conversation, Rumplestilskin had to keep blinking rapidly to keep his tears of grief from spilling over.

He remembered his own son, a little boy named Baelfire that had been born to Rumplestilskin and his ex-wife, a human woman named Milah Ross.

Only two months after Bae had been born, Milah had found out that Rumplestilskin was an alien on an assignment for his planet and had left them both. Later on, the Men in black had come and attacked them where they lived. Bae had been killed in the assault. As had his apprentice, a seventeen year old named Jefferson.

Truthfully, he didn't remember much of what had actually happened, it was all just a blur to him. Just like the rest of that year had been.

His doctor back on Boov told him that he had received a concussion from the incident, which was why he couldn't remember anything other than what his planet had told him.

According to them, he had been on a two-year mission on Earth to find more information about the humans while living among them. The mission had ended in disaster. His planet had been furious to learn about his marriage.

Speaking of humans . . .

One thing Rumplestilskin enjoyed more than anything else on Earth was his time with Belle. He couldn't explain it, but he always felt safe and happy around her now a days. Every time she laughed, it sent his heart soaring, and when their hands touched, either by accident of design, it made his heart skip a beat.

She was always doing nice things for him. Some days she would take him to the museum, or the harbor where they would walk happily along arm in arm.

He in turn would try and do nice things for her as well.

He would make her scarves from the yarn he made from his spinning wheel that Belle and Ruby had bought him, or would read a story with her in the evenings after she was taking him to his cabin.

His cabin. It wasn't really his, and within the first week of staying there, he found out that it wasn't abandoned. It belonged to a man by the name of Mr. Gold, who happened to be the person everyone seemed to think he was.

In the third week of staying at the cabin, Belle and the others had started taking greater care to keep him hidden from the town.

A woman by the name of Mrs. Potts who seemed to be a friend of Belle's was constantly searching for him, as was a man named Mr. Dove, who also had done rent for the man ever since Mr. Gold had vanished without a trace.

It seemed everyone wanted to find out where Mr. Gold was.

After a few weeks of confusion, Belle had finally explained to him that Mr. Gold had disappeared four and a half years ago, and happened to own most of the properties around the town, including the park and Grannies' diner.

The more he learned about Mr. Gold, the more he wanted to know more about him. The man had disappeared four years ago, right when Rumplestilskin's eight year old son, Baelfire had been killed, and he had been sent back to Boov.

Not only that, but the man had also been married to Milah Ross for two years, only five months after she had left Rumplestilskin.

And more than that, Mr. Gold had a son named Baelfire.

And so, now Rumplestilskin stood in front of Mr. Gold's Pawnshop, the shop's key swinging from his left hand, while his eyes darted nervously down the street where the library was.

On this fine Wednesday, Rumplestilskin had taken the pawnshop key he had found at the cabin, and had later snuck out of the library when Belle wasn't looking.

He had to know.

With a deep breath, Rumplestilskin walked up to the door and stuck the key into the slot, and turned it. The door opened with a quiet click.

Slowly, Rumplestilskin opened the door and went inside. The only sound emanating from the quiet tap, tap of his cane as he walked.

The entire shop looked as if no one had set foot in it for several years, and probably no one had. The shelves, little trinkets and front counter were coated in a fine layer of dust.

He stared around the shop, and then moved past the shelves, and ran two fingers across the surface of the front counter, looked at the dust the swipe had coated onto his fingers.

He felt tears sting the corners of his eyes. A sudden hollow feeling coming into his chest. It felt as if someone had reached into his chest and ripped a part of his heart out. This place felt so familiar, yet he couldn't remember having ever set foot into it before.

He racked his brain, searching for any lost piece of memory that might have slipped his notice before, but he couldn't find a thing.

With a heavy sigh, he went into the back room of the shop. It, like the rest of Mr. Gold's shop was covered in dust.

He wandered around for a few moments, then something on the desk caught his eyes. It was an old leather bound scrap book, with photos sticking out a little on some pages.

He moved behind the desk and sat down in the chair, before he pulled the book up onto his lap, slowly opening it. Fearful of what he might see.

It was him. Not some stranger that appeared like him, not a notorious and mysterious Mr. Gold. But him, Rumplestilskin.

Well, sort of.

The man in the photo had shorter and darker hair, but it was still Rumplestilskin himself. The same facial features, the same body type.

The only difference between the current Rumplestilskin and this one, was their eyes. The Mr. Gold Rumplestilskin had human deep chocolate brown ones, while normal Rumplestilskin had amber reptilian ones.

The bell by the front door tinkled, and the sound of footsteps reached his ears, but he didn't look up, couldn't look up, fore on the next page was a picture of him and his boy standing at the Minor's Festival, both smiling like idiots. Next to them was an old woman who looked suspiously like Belle's friend Mrs. Potts.

"Rumple? Are you in here?" Belle's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and he looked up to see her poking her head into the back room. Her blue eyes widened when she saw him, and then narrowed in anger.

"What are you doing in here? You're supposed to stay where I or one of our friends can see you, you know the rules," She said irritable, and walked over to him. She stopped in front of the desk and folded her arms across her chest.

"Sorry," he muttered, staring down at the page with the picture of him and his boy. He felt tears leak out of his eyes and slide down his cheeks to drop down onto the page.

"Rumple?" Belle questioned softly, and she leaned across the desk to touch his shoulder, attempting to comfort him.

Suddenly his vision swam, and then he remembered something.

 _He was standing behind the front counter, cleaning it off with a wet dish towel while his eight year old son played monopoly with Rumplestilskin's apprentice, Jefferson._

" _Ha I win again!" Baelfire crowed, while Jefferson merely shook his head and looked up from where the two were sitting on the floor to look at Rumplestilskin Gold, and said:_

" _He's just as good at this game as you," Jefferson explained, "I want to see you two play against each other, that would be funny"._

 _Suddenly the front door swung open and five Nano-humans came in, all carrying guns. Their faces were covered by ski masks, so he couldn't tell who they were exactly, but the logo on their black and red uniforms identified them as government secret service agents from Boov._

Then as soon as the memory had come, it ended, and Rumplestilskin once again found himself staring at the page of the scrapbook.

Tears dripped down his face in quick succession now. He reached up and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

Belle wrapped her arms around him, gently petting his hair in a soothing way. "Rumple? What's wrong? Why'd you come in here?" she asked.

"They were right," Rumplestilskin whispered.

"What do you mean," Belle questioned softly, her eyes filled with concern.

"I'm Mr. Gold," Rumplestilskin said.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten:

Rumplestilskin sat beside Belle on the floor of the back room of his shop. His arms wrapped around himself, tears dripping down his face.

Belle gently rubbed his back in soothing circles with her hand, her head resting against his shoulder. She sat with him, murmuring comforting words in his ear for what seemed like forever until Rumplestilskin finally found his voice.

"That boy in the picture," he rasped, "That's my son, Baelfire. I-I lost him years ago, four to be precise when your kind invaded our little apartment and killed him and my apprentice, his name was Jefferson. He was only seventeen".

"Baelfire," Belle said, and momentarily paused in rubbing his back before she continued, and said in a quiet, but confused voice, "But, he's not dead Rumple, Mrs. Potts went to visit him in New York City a few weeks back."

"Maybe," Rumplestilskin mumbled, his head hurt badly, and he felt like he was about to vomit at any moment.

He curled in on himself more, and Belle moved to wrap her arms tightly around him. He hesitated a moment before he wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in the crook of her neck, seeking comfort he hadn't received in so long.

Rumplestilskin sobbed like he hadn't in years. It just hurt so much knowing that his boy had been alive and well as this time while Rumplestilskin had believed him dead. Just how much of his memories were real and how many were false?

Had his planet taken him to Lake Lagoa and had his memories replaced? Had they attacked his son and Jefferson?

If Baelfire was alive, then maybe so was his long lost apprentice. Perhaps the two were living together in this New York City Belle had spoken of.

After all, Jefferson had promised to take care of Baelfire if anything were to happen to Rumplestilskin.

"Sh," Belle murmured in his ear, "Everything's going to be alright, you'll see. " She rocked him gently back and forth as if he were a babe, and caressed his back.

By the time his body had finally decided that it was enough tears for now, he was already feeling better. Although he didn't know whether that was due to having cried or to Belle being there for him in his time of need.

He pulled back away from her, and she let go of him.

Rumplestilskin wiped his eyes and nose, and then with Belle's help stood up, still feeling a little queezy.

"Thank you," he whispered hoarsely to her.

Belle smiled and nodded, before she cupped his face in her face, and gently stroked the stubble on his cheek with her thumb. It felt nice.

He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. He took a deep shuddering breath, and reopened his eyes.

Belle was watching her with gentleness in her eyes; strands of her hair falling into her face, while a tiny bit of dust had been smudged on the end of her nose.

Rumplestilskin stared at her, and reached out with his hand to brush her hair back behind her ear, causing her to smile shyly at him, her cheeks reddening in a small blush. She looked so adorable; he wanted nothing more than to kiss her.

That sudden realization made his heart nearly stop. He loved her, in that exact moment he knew he had from the moment he had given her the rose.

"Why'd you save me?" Rumplestilskin whispered, feeling tears begin to sting his eyes again.

Belle seemed surprised but this question, but she answered it anyway, "I'd always wanted to do the brave thing," she told him, "And to live an adventure. When I saw your ship go down, I knew that I couldn't ignore what could happen. I had to save anyone that I could".

I love you, was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't make himself say it. He was far too much of a coward to open himself to the possible rejection he would surely face if he ever said those three little words.

After all, he was an alien. But not just any alien, his species wanted to not only invade her planet, but take over her world ad imprison humankind just like every other world they had every been on. He was in the truest sense, a monster.

"I'm s-sorry," he whispered hoarsely, "I'm so so, sorry".

Belle removed her hand from the side of his face and began caressing his face instead, a puzzled frown on her face, "Why? You have nothing to be sorry for".

If you only you knew, he thought miserably. Her world was going to be imprisoned, and it was all his fault!

He then thought of his son, and how disappointed the boy would be if he knew what his father had done. How angry and resentful he would become of the person who had done everything to raise him.

Belle didn't know why he was apologizing to her, but she knew he was being incredibly emotionally at the moment.

It had shocked her to learn that he was Mr. Gold, and that he had thought his precious son was gone, even though the boy was in reality only a few hours drive from where they were now.

Rumplestilskin reached forward and petted her hair, his movements uncertain. It felt nice to show her affection without being rejected, not that it would last much longer.

Within two months, the warships from Boov would be here, and then she would hate him, and never want anything to do with him.

And so would his dear boy.

"Belle," he whispered, "D-do you think Mrs. Potts could get Baelfire here? Or at least on the phone so I may speak with him?"

Belle leaned forward a little and nodded, "I'll see what I can do," she told him, her eyes bright and warm.

The look she gave him made his insides turn to puddy.

Belle leaned forward, her eyes beginning to close, and—

And Rumplestilskin jerked back, his fear overcoming his reason. Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! He internally screamed at himself.

"I-I have to go," he stammered, and limped as fast as he could out of the shop, leaving behind a sad and disappointed Belle.

 _I have to fix this! I have to, I can't let Boov take over Earth! Not after finally finding my son, and everything I ever wanted!_ Rumplestilskin thought.

He headed straight for the woods, silently wishing he had brought his cane with him. But it didn't matter, he had to find a way to convince his planet that it wasn't a good idea to attack Earth.

When he reached the crashed spaceship, Rumplestilskin hauled himself into the interior and started for the radio when suddenly someone grabbed him from behind.

"Sorry Rumplestilskin, but we already thought to come here before you to make sure you don't turn traitor on us again. This time, you won't ruin everything!" a deep man's voice purred in his ear, and then everything went black.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven:  
"Jefferson! Mrs. Potts has great news, get over here! Get over here now!" Baelfire yelled, jumping up and down while holding his green cell phone.

The young boy was only twelve years old, having been eight when Zelena and a few other Nano-humans had tried to kill him and Jefferson and had later brainwashed his father.

Jefferson, now twenty one, came bounding into the living room of their small but comfy New York apartment.

The older man had been taking care of Baelfire since they had fled from Storybrooke that fateful night, just as Rumplestilskin had once taken him in as his own ward.

"What is Bae?" Jefferson asked, taking the phone from the young boy. Baelfire didn't answer, but instead he just grinned, and motioned for him to talk with Mrs. Potts.

As the old woman quickly but quietly explained that she had seen Rumplestilskin running around town with a few humans in Storybrooke, Jefferson felt his mouth turn upward in an impish grin. It was finally time to come home to Storybrooke.

And this time, they weren't giving up on Rumple.

Belle quickly headed down the quiet street, keeping Mr. Gold's Victorian house in sight.

The house was sheltered by two massive oak trees, whose enormous limbs provided plenty of shade in the massive front yard.

In the gravel driveway just in front of the impressive house was a small blue car, Mrs. Potts' car. Belle would recognize it anywhere.

She went up the driveway, listening to the crunch, crunch sound of her feet in the gravel and then went up to the front porch, before she took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.

She clasped her hands in front of her and put on her most winning smile, she had to do this, for Rumple.

A moment later the door opened, and Mrs. Potts poked her head out, her eyes lighting up with surprise and delight at seeing Belle on her front porch.

"Hello Ms. French, how may I help you?" Mrs. Potts asked curiously. The older woman stepped out of the house and joined Belle on the front porch, drying her hands on the apron around her waist.

Belle took a deep breath and said, "I found your employer, Mr. Gold."

Mrs. Potts smiled, the skin around her eyes crinkling, "I know, I've seen him around town. Tell me child, does he—does he remember anything?"

Belle's eyes widen in surprise, she had assumed that Mrs. Potts had thought he was human, though it made sense that the older woman would know.

"You know he's an alien?" Belle said, and Mrs. Potts nodded.

"He never told me, but he didn't have to, I knew from the moment I met him that he wasn't from this Earth," Mrs. Potts explained, "But does he remember anything? I know his planet tends to brain wash troublesome people".

Belle nodded her head, "Sort of. He remembers his son and Jefferson and he knows he's Mr. Gold, but I don't think he remembers everything quite yet".

Mrs. Potts gave a relieved sigh, "That's ok, his son and Jefferson can help him with that."

"They're coming back to Storybrooke!" Belle asked, unable to hide the twinge of excitement in her voice.

Mrs. Potts grinned and nodded, "Aye, I told them that he was back in town, and they wanted to come here and help him, speaking of which, how'd you two even meet?"

Belle blushed, remembering those first few days when it had just been the two of them. She couldn't help but wish that she still had him all to herself, "His ship crashed, and I tried to save him and his allies, but the others were already dead. He was the only one still alive when I found the ship".

Suddenly Mrs. Potts's eyes widened in horror, and her voice grew hoarse as she said in a faint whisper, "D-did he ever say why he came here when he crashed?"

"Yeah, he said his planet wanted to learn more about humans, why?" Belle asked, not understanding why the older woman was suddenly so frightened.

"They weren't coming to learn more about us Belle; they were coming to ensure that we had no weapons that could outmatch theirs".

Belle's eyes widened in sudden realization and she put her hands over her mouth, "What do you mean," she whispered though she already knew the truth.

"They're coming to take over Earth Belle; they're coming to invade," Mrs. Potts said gravely.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve:

Belle raced through the town on foot along with Ruby and Emma, while Sheriff Gram(who only knew that Mr. Gold was missing again,) drove around in the squad car with David.

Killian had taken up the coastal side of the city, searching through every place he could think of that the alien might be hiding. Ariel was with him, helping, though she too was oblivious as to who Mr. Gold really was.

Regina, her new boyfriend, Robin searched the more secluded part of the city that was closest to the forest that resided beside Storybrooke.

Baelfire, and Jefferson, who had just arrived back in the city, searched alongside Mrs. Potts at all of Rumplestilskin's old haunts.

"We could try the old Patterson place, no body's been there for a while, it would be an excellent hiding place for him, especially since we haven't checked it yet," Emma suggest, and they silently changed course.

Belle wrapped her arms around herself. At first, when Mrs. Potts had told her of what Rumple had come to Earth to do, it had scared and angered her. Not only had he lied to her, but he had meant their hometown of Storybrooke eventually harm.

But over the course of the three days he'd been missing, Mrs. Potts, and Jefferson had explained to her that the Nano-humans would brainwash anyone who threatened to turn traitor, or in Rumplestilskin's case, actually turn traitor and favor another planet instead of Boov.

Jefferson had told her that while he and Bae were hidden in a secret room of the house, Mrs. Potts had been on vacation at the time, they had overheard a female alien named Zelena threaten to brainwash him if he didn't hand over his son, and allow them to kill him.

Of course he had done the thing any father would do. He sacrificed himself to save not only his son, but also his apprentice, Jefferson and caretaker, Mrs. Potts.

Once she truly thought about it, Belle had realized that he wasn't a deceiving, heartless alien, but a caring father and employer who had done the brave thing to protect those he cared about.

And that was why she didn't understand why he was hiding. In fact the more she thought about it, the more she realized that he probably wasn't hiding but captured! Had Zelena come back and taken him back to Boov for another round of brainwashing? Had she killed him and burned his body? The endless possibilities played over and over in her mind until they had reached the old Patterson mansion, stationed on the outskirts of Storybrooke.

The sound of screaming reached her, and the trio instantly raced up the steps of the old house. The door was locked, but Emma kicked it open, they were lucky she was a cop.

Then they hurried inside, led by Emma who had both her gun out and her radio, which she was using to radio to Gram that they might have found Mr. Gold and would need police backup.

A quiet whimper led them into a large stainless steel room, where Rumplestilskin was tied down to an examination table, completely immobile. Strange alien equipment was scattered about the room. Several wires ending in suction cup like things were attached to Rumplestilskin's head and chest. A computer on the other end of them showed them his heart rate, blood pressure and brain activity. There was also what looked like a giant wiry tazer attached to the machine that would shock him every few minutes, causing him to scream out in pain.

They rushed over and quickly detached the wires and suction cup things from him, and helped him sit up, his whole body was trembling, eyes watering a little from the pain.

"B-Be-Belle? No! No! No! You all have to get out of here now!" He exclaimed fearfully, scooting off the metal table to stand shakily between Ruby and Belle.

Belle wrapped a firm arm around his waist to help support him, "We're not leaving you Rumple, we're going to get you out of here love".

A loud creaking caused them all to spin around in time to see a woman, no a female Nano-human dressed all in green, with fiery red hair shutting the door, a cruel smile on her face.

"Afraid not Darling, you'll be joining him," she cackled, and she took out the strangest looking gun Belle had ever seen. It was only slightly larger than Emma's and was entirely black, with little blue lights lit up on the sides. It reminded Belle of Rumple's spaceship.

Rumplestilskin instantly threw himself in front of the three women, his protective instincts taking over, just as they had the last time Zelena had threatened people he cared about.

"You're not going to touch them Dearie!" he snarled, his appearance changing back to that of a Nano-human, though his normally reptilian amber eyes had become human and were a soft chocolate brown now.

He lunged forward just as Zelena pulled the trigger, and a blue light shot out of the muzzle of the alien gun.

It hit Rumple in the leg, and for a moment immobilized him, but then he shook himself off, and slammed the gun out of her hands, before pinning her against the wall, teeth bared in a vicious snarl, eyes blazing in fury.

Zelena batted at Rumplestilskin, trying to free herself, but her efforts were in vain, when a moment later, Gram came in with David, and knocked Zelena out, allowing Rumplestilskin to go back over to Belle, who helped him put his shirt back on.

After that, Gram and Emma took Zelena to the Sheriff's department, where she was locked up in one of the cells, and Killian came over to help Emma explain to the sheriff that both Rumple and Zelena were aliens.

Belle and Ruby went and found the rest of Rumple's family, allowing father and son to reunite as well as apprentice and mentor.

Baelfire wrapped his arms around his father, and started crying, his eyes filled with nothing but relief and sheer happiness. Rumplestilskin held on tightly to his son, tears dripping down his own face while he burrowed his face in his boy's crown of wild brown hair, murmuring comforts to the young boy.

When the two finally let go of each other, Rumple and Jefferson hugged, though not for quite as long as father and son had. Then the six of them had gone to the Party Palace, a place where you could have parties at short notice, and joined their friends.

While most of the men grilled fish and hamburger to celebrate the fact that Earth was not going to be invaded, the girls, Henry and Baelfire decorated the place.

Rumple and Belle left them to it and went out into the woods where they found his ship, and dialed the transmission that would forever, or at least for now, keep the Nano-humans from coming to Earth to invade.

Then they turned to each other, smiling warmly and shared their first of many kisses.

 **The End.**


End file.
